TO PAT ROBERTSON'S 700 CLUB: HAVE FUN! BE A RAELIAN!

Better You Should Belong to a Nice Space Age Religion

Monday, June 16, 1997By Jack Nichols

Last week GayToday's top story told of its welcome TV publicity
received from Pat Robertson's intellectually impoverished 700
Club, a daily gabfest for the spiritually deprived. The dorky
televangelist's newscasters, in yet another of their inept attempts
to cast aspersions on gay men and lesbians, clearly recited Badpuppy's
GayToday Internet address. This was a major tactical error
indeed, not to mention one that showcased typical CBN inaccuracies.
Now that 700 Club members have been given access to Badpuppy's
GayToday, it is time to provide them with a colorful and
civilized alternative to the nonsense that has too long remained
a staple of their TV diets. But more on this civilized religious
alternative (one that has seemingly arrived from outer space)
in a moment.

The Christian Broadcasting Network--on June 11-- falsely announced
that GayToday's continuing series on cloning meant support
for the cause of human cloning from "a number of homosexual
groups" who, according the erroneous CBN report, "want
to go ahead" with cloning. In fact, polls indicate that only
10% of gays (3% higher than the national average) think cloning
is A-OK. The Clone Rights United Front (CRUF) founded by Randolfe
Wicker, a gay media pioneer, does not consider itself a gay group
and no other gay groups presently support the concept of reproductive
freedom through cloning.

GayToday's editorial position on cloning is the same as
it takes on other novel ideas: open-mindedness. That this newsmagazine
pioneered pro-human-cloning news coverage does not mean that either
its editor or its writers hope to arrange, in the near future,
to be cloned. What GayToday does cheerfully appreciate
about the dawning of cloning as an issue, however, are the many
unsettling challenges it dumps on status-quo spirituality of the
sort peddled by Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy,
and other anti-gay zealots.

Dr. Ian Wilmut's cloned sheep, the sweet-natured Dolly, for example,
sounds the arrival of the world's first truly authenticated virgin
birth (no sex, no males involved) as well as the first known instance
of same-sex reproduction. The CBN newscasters made no mention
of this fact. The story of the Virgin Mary, by comparison, becomes
mere 2,000 year old hearsay.

Nuns, theoretically, could give birth to their own carbon-copy
likenesses and still, with cesareans, remain virgins. Humanity,
thereby, would seem to assume what has previously remained a "divine"
station once ascribed to God alone, that of The Creator of human
life.

As the folk music genius, Bob Dylan, puts it, "The times
they are a'changing."

An early cloning prediction made by both GayToday's editor
and CRUF founder Randolfe Wicker, promised the arrival of a new
religion based--in great part--on cloning.

What neither editor or founder knew at that time was that there
already exists such a religion, the Raelian faith, founded twenty-five
years ago. Rael, a Frenchman, and the esteemed transmitter of
a message from outer space, reputedly from "the Elohim",
has contacted Randolfe Wicker and, happily, CRUF's founder has
now provided GayToday with details about a world-wide community
of approximately 30,000 pro-cloning believers. A cursory study
of their beliefs seem to indicate that Raelian philosophy is the
perfect substitute religion for all of those 700 Club believers
who thoughtlessly accept decrepit Christian Coalition dogmas and
thus need a new sensual start on life.

In a reply two weeks ago to Christopher Rapp and Randolfe Wicker,
GayToday's editor asked of Rapp: "Can you be absolutely
certain this whole thing (the arrival of pro-cloners)
isn't just a subplot (as Rapp had wondered) to Les Cages
Aux Folles? Somehow, just somehow, I think, if you only really
knew....."

If you, dear reader, are ready, you can learn more about recent
Raelian history and beliefs communicated from "the Elohim"
in the Raelian Information Pack you may order from sources listed
at the end of the following essay.

Who are the Elohim? And where does cloning intersect with all
this? What have the Elohim got to do with the Bible?

The Raelians say that in Genesis biblical account of creastion,
the word "Elohim" has been mistranslated as "God"
in the singular. The word, insist Raelians, is plural, however,
and means "those who come from the sky." These visitors
from outer space, the Elohim, were scientifically advanced and
cloned themselves (made human beings in their own images).

Are you confused? Relax.

Edward Carpenter, a great grandfather of the gay and lesbian liberation
movement (1844-1929) was just as open-minded about odd ideas as
is Badpuppy's GayToday. In his magnificent autobiography,
My Days and Dreams, Carpenter told of another strange religious
group, The Hermetic Society, founded in the 1880's by Edward Maitland
and Anna Kingsford. In spite of the peculiarities that surrounded
Hermetic theories, Carpenter praised the zealous couple for "certain
insights." One could, upon attending a Hermetic meeting,
react , he said, by dissolving "along our different lines--in
tears, or laughter, or through the doorways and passages as the
case may be." While he did not himself subscribe to the Hermetic
doctrines, he saw some significant merits in them nevertheless,
and wrote: "We poor little mortals must be grateful for what
illuminations we can get, however quaint or queer the mediating
personalities may be."

It is in just this spirit that GayToday presents the interesting
thoughts of a Raelian missionary, hoping his approach to life
will especially appeal to Christian Coalition members everywhere.
One aspect of Raelian practice that should cause particular joy
to all, whether Christian Coalition members or gay men and lesbians,
is the Raelian emphasis on sensual awareness. While the Raelian
message has arrived on GayToday's doorstep in an extraordinarily
strange bottle, it would seem, based on the following essay, to
contain some very fine wine. The Raelian message bears likenesses--in
its universal appeal-- to other newly-birthed religions such as
the Baha'i World Faith, especially in the manner--"progressive
revelation" in which Rael has accounted for the existence
of world religions like Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

Who knows but that centuries from now, Raelians, like the early
Christians, may later--when Rael has ascended-- count their membership
in the hundreds of millions.

Let it be said--in history's light-- that GayToday welcomed
Raelian thoughts not in the spirit of a famed Roman Catholic theologian
who said, "I believe because it is absurd," but because,
shorn of its oddest elements, Raelianism makes far better sense
than either Pat Robertson or the Pope can ever command.

THE RAELIAN LIFESTYLE: Threat or Solution?

By Dr. Marcus Wenner, Neurobiologist

Representative in England

Where is humanity heading and which way am I pulling
it ? What are the consequences of my actions and what are the
effects of the Raelian lifestyle ? Am I a threat or a solution
? For me, a neurobiological psychologist, these are essential
questions which I must answer before getting involved with anything
I do. As it happens, my personal experience of the Raelian lifestyle
has been extremely positive, in fact I would even go so far as
to say that it plays a vital role for humanity.

I shall explain, but before I go any further, I would
like to clarity the difference between what can be seen as a threat
to our society and what really is a threat to the survival of
humanity.

Every new "thing" threatens our society,
including positive things such as new ideas, new technology or
even new concepts. But they do not necessarily threaten its survival,
on the contrary, they could enhance it.

Take the invention of the light bulb; it not only
threatened the lifestyle based around candle light technology,
it destroyed it too. Sure, it shot dead the wax industry immediately,
but it also enabled us to do more things at night, it helped dispel
our fear of the dark and made it that much safer to walk the streets
at night. What a boon for individuals and humanity as a whole
! Yes it threatened society, in fact it destroyed one part, but
replaced that with something better. We could have reacted badly
and forced everyone to work all night, but luckily, we rose to
the challenge. We used it to our advantage and let it aid humanity's
survival...

The same applies to the individual; every new stimulus
impinging on our senses threatens our status quo - but in living
systems, status quo means stagnation and death new information
threatens our previous concept of reality because it forces us
to reevaluate. That is the basis of learning. To gain a new understanding,
we must not be afraid to let go of our old understanding. It is
just like Tarzan jumping from rope to rope. If we are afraid of
letting go of our old rope, we can never grab the new one to move
forward.

Humanity is hanging over a snake pit slowly losing
its grip. Along comes a new philosophy which is like a series
of new ropes which can lead us to a beautiful clearing in the
jungle, but humanity is afraid to let go its old decaying rope
before grabbing the new one. In a way I don't blame its caution,
who knows, the new rope could lead to an even greater disaster,
but that is why we have reason and foresight. Combined with objectivity,
these two intellectual qualities enable us to look ahead at where
the ropes will lead us and enable us to select the direction and
destination we desire. I have seen the pits that human beings
fall into in their lives, I have seen how the Raelian life style
has enabled people to help themselves, and I can say that the
ropes really do lead not just to safety, which is a fairly emotionally
neutral position, but positively to an elysian clearing where
life is genuinely fun. Furthermore, and I will develop this later,
humanity can only survive as a cohesive group into the next century
if all its members are fulfilling themselves. Global fun is essential
for our common survival.

So what is this pit that humanity is hanging over
? One doesn't have to have a doctorate to see that the great threats
to humanity's survival are war, violence, illness, depression,
drug abuse, famine, destruction of the earth's resources and religious,
racial and indeed, general intolerance. Though varied in their
symptoms, the causes can be summarized in a few words; lack of
awareness and lack of pleasure!

How can this be ? And yet it is true. This is exactly
what Rael was teaching twenty years ago. At the time, it seemed
an extremely simplistic viewpoint, surely this was a completely
loopy vine rope to grab onto, but since then, advances in the
fields of neurobiology and psychoimmunology have revolutionized
our thinking and confirmed all these assertions, as well as the
proposed solutions!

For the past twenty years, Rael has been explaining
how, like a plant, a human being needs just the right conditions
to grow, blossom and flower. We are designed to be happy, to be
responsible, to "do good", to feel high, to be creative,
loving and fulfilled, all the time, but if our needs are not nourished,
we fade, sieze up, become twisted, irresponsible, aggressive and
fall prey to disease. The prime indicator of whether our environment
is feeding us nourishment or poison, is sensory pleasure or pain.
A flame hurts us, this indicates that it is destroying us - time
to do something quick such as flee. If we can't get out of this
unpleasant situation, the next resort is to fight our way out,
which is where aggression comes from. A violent person is a suffering
person and must be helped, not punished. On the other hand, a
caress feels pleasant and this means that it is actually feeding
us, it is really nourishing something in us, it is developing
our mind and body. This is sensory pleasure, but it is not the
only type encouraged by the Raelian philosophy.

There is also the enjoyment of being appreciated
for the pleasure we give to others, such as when they enjoy the
food you have just cooked for them, or when you have just performed
a musical piece, dance, told a joke or simply been nice to someone.
There is the whole area of being in love, giving love and making
love. There is also the essential need to feel that we are doing
something useful with our lives and that we are in control of
it, a feeling of hope, a direction and the satisfaction of achievement.
All these types of pleasure feed essential nourishment to the
individual's mind and body, and luckily for society, may all benefit
humanity. The happier people are, the more productive and creative
they will be, bringing richness and variety to mankind's global
mind.

However, there is one essential difference between
plants and human beings, and that is that we can choose our environment.
Obviously, if we are ~n an unpleasant situation, we can change
it and make it better. This is the prime aim of Raelian culture.
For this we need to develop the insight to question that which
generations of habit has rendered unquestionable and to implement
a new solution. Again, this requires cutting and letting go of
the sacrosanct rope vines we have been born tied up to. before
we can grab new ones. even if no one has ever touched them before.
Of course pioneering this positive rebellion requires courage,
and you certainly can't force anyone else to do the same. The
trick is simply to swing your own way and others will follow by
example, at their own pace, when they see the way is safe.

So to return to the difference between us and plants;
when in an unpleasant situation. we can either act and improve
the situation or we can walk away. Both are better than nothing
because inaction spells toxic build up! However when both changing
or fleeing are impossible, there is a third option which is to
change your own perception of the situation. Every situation contains
some positive, it is a matter of seeing it and feeding yourself
with that.

Now twenty years later. modern science is backing
ail this up. Recent research clearly indicates how the immune
system is weakened by stress and all the negative emotions of
fear, unhappiness, guilt, uncertainty, indecision, lack of direction,
hope or control over our lives. On top of that, the evidence is
piling up how pleasure and sensuality boosts the immune system
as does touch, massage, being loved, being in love, succeeding,
creating and generally fulfilling one's senses. Laughter clinics
are gaining more and more credence following discoveries of how
it increases the immune response and speeds healing. Not only
do these pleasurable activities enhance the immune system while
unpleasant ones deplete it but they effect every other system
in the human mind and body too.

Modern research in psychology also demonstrates how
aggressive behavior is simply a desperate attempt to reduce or
avoid one's own suffering. Whole wars and torture chains, where
the abusee becomes the abuser, are fought on this principle. Every
social worker knows how discontent leads to violence, as do most
dictators, who don't hesitate to use it to whip their frustrated
people into a jingoistic war fever.

Therefore, from my own personal experience, and in
the more objective light of science, I would say that the three
pronged approach of the Raelian lifestyle which encourages - a
vigilant re-assessment of one's own value system, - an exertion
of choice and implementation of one's life conditions, and the
development of a positive attitude so as to gain nourishment from
any situation, - is extremely beneficial not only for the individual,
but also essential for the survival of humanity.

We are all born into a world of contradictory values
which have been passed down unquestioned since the middle ages.
Just because our great grandparents had problems with taboo subjects
such as their sexuality, death, science etc... should we dumbly
pass on these inhibitory values to our children ? Just because
a parent was once abused as a child does that give them the right
to abuse their own children? Of course not. In some parts of the
world, it is the mother's role to hold down her daughter while
the clitoris is excised. Blinded by the sheer weight given to
this ceremony from her culture's value system, the mother thinks she is helping her daughter Ç` fit
in ', to society through this operation. Not only is she robbing
her daughter of the chance for a complete sexual relationship,
she is also robbing her culture of fulfillment. In fact she is
contributing to the complete excision of any balanced sexual relationships
within her whole group. She is injecting frustration and pain
into the community which will manifest itself as aggression and
violence among the male contingent. She might as well carry out
a lobotomy on her daughter, the results would be the same, but
at least it would be less painful!

And yet this is really no different to what we do
in our own society. Every time we tell our children to stop playing
with their sexual organs, every bit of guilt we induce on the
enjoyment of their senses, every time we tell them to shut up
and not ask questions, every time we teach fear, impose our own
value system, normalize behavior or frown on someone with different
values to us, we are physically inhibiting a specific brain pathway
in both themselves and in our own self. We are paralyzing a neural
circuit and in effect performing a lobotomy. We are inhibiting
someone from expressing themselves. We are locking up our own
prisoners of conscience within our own minds because they speak
out and threaten the norm. We are sending mankind to a rehabilitation
camp and throwing away the key to our own creativity. Just think
of how many Mozarts', Picassos' or Einsteins' we have prevented
from benefiting us. By creating frustration, we contribute to
illness and more violence. By abusing, we are creating new abusers,
we are breeding potential dictators. who when given a position
of power might even destroy humanity.

The more technology develops, the more damage can
just one unhappy and frustrated individual do. That is why I believe
that humanity cannot survive if even a few people are unhappy
and dissatisfied. This is mankind's snake pit and the rope vine
it is hanging on for dear life is fast disintegrating ! The solution,
in the guise of another rope vine which we have always ignored
because of its taboo connotations, is the above mentioned three
pronged approach. It requires an objective reassessment of our
value system so as to ensure that all our thoughts words and actions
enhance sensory pleasure and emotional fulfillment of both ourselves
and those around us.

This has always been the Raelian ethic and is an
important contribution to society. However, perhaps the most unique
aspect of this philosophy is the concept of infinity. As we open
our senses to the infinitely small particles that make us up,
the infinitely large that we are part of, and the infinite reaches
of time, the various techniques as taught to Rael by the Elohim
stimulate the brain and body to release naturally occurring positive
substances. These bring about a natural high and an all pervading
harmony. This is the demystification of the famous states of religious
ecstasy, except that here, you don't have to believe in god, only
in love. Hence the need to fight to impose religious belief is
made redundant as this `. communion with infinity,, becomes accessible
to all. It is a state that we are designed to be in all the time
and the drug user's preoccupation with artificial stimulants and
hallucinogenic experiences are merely a clumsy attempt to reach
this natural state.

Incidentally, what the vast figures of tobacco. coffee.
alcohol, drug abuse, illness and depression all tell us is that
people are just not happy. They do not know how to sort out their
lives so that their needs are fulfilled and they are just too
inhibited to let themselves go naturally. Whether it is as a rebellion
against authority, cheap thrills to relieve boredom, as a way
of making friends in a contact deprived world, a communion with
love and ecstasy, an attempt to discover the hidden potential
of the mind through hallucinogenics, an escape from the drudgery
and pain of reality through narcotics or the habitual blotting
out of problems with alcohol, the root cause is a deprivation
of human needs. The answer lies in all that has been mentioned
in this article and is summarized by the Raelian practice of Sensual
Meditation.

Central to this concept of infinity is the realization
that everything, including ourselves, is interlinked. Integral
to this is an awareness of the consequences of every ripple we
make in the fabric of our world. a world which reflects back on
us. Hence it becomes all the more important to choose what effect
we have on it, rather than leave this to random or unconscious
habits passed down unquestioned to us from our ``education".
Consequent to this is a loving sensitivity towards ourselves and
especially our environment and a willingness to take responsibility
for what we do. In a world of dwindling resources, epidemics,
war and starvation, this is indeed a welcome breeze.

I have spent most of this article assessing the problems
of this world and using modern science to measure the effectiveness
of the solutions proposed by the Raelian organization. However,
not all is doom and gloom. Indeed planet earth is a beautiful
and varied place and humanity is extremely resourceful with many
positive things in its favor and I would like to finish optimistically
on the future rather than the past.

The recent dissolution of the Berlin wall and the
thawing of east west relations has shown how unexpected change
can be. Though it appeared to happen very suddenly, the seeds
had been planted many years ago. It was the surface manifestation
of a complex process involving centuries of global events. It
was just a bud on the unfolding tree of humanity. And yet, like
a hurricane whose seed can be shaped by the movement of a butterfly
wing, we can still have our say on the final shape of our future,
and this is where foresight, logic and an open mind comes in handy.
Without these, as mentioned at the start of the article, even
the solution might be misconstrued as a threat. We need to be
like an experienced sailor. Instead of being afraid of a full
frontal wind blowing us backwards, we can use it to shoot forwards.
We can either use the prevailing winds wisely or get thrown onto
the rocks by them through ignorance. In a world growing smaller
daily through mass communication, we cannot survive long without
a world government, so we might as well prepare for it now. Then
when it does happen, it will happen right.

Imagine a world government a world currency and a
word auxiliary language. How else can we answer the third world
debt, protection and fair distribution of resources, pollution
control and global agricultural policies ? It is the only viable
way of ensuring that all countries and people have sufficient
food, shelter, education, sensory fulfillment and the above mentioned
human needs. Fulfill their needs and you automatically remove
the breeding ground for dictators and war.

Projecting into the even more distant future, what
happens when machines replace most human jobs ? Will some earn
whilst others remain penniless or will we learn how to do without
money altogether? Will we die of boredom or will we gain our satisfaction
and fulfillment from a true leisure society ? When life prolongation
develops as a science, what criteria will we use to choose candidates
or will everyone be eligible ? What constraints should we impose
on our geneticists to protect our planet's fragile ecological
balance from the new life forms they will synthesize? These are
all issues which we will have to face sooner or later. Are we
really equipped to judge all these changes with our middle aged
belief system, or will we shed our obscuritanist thinking in time
to rise to the challenge ? Whatever direction we choose, the Raelian
vine rope movement is the ideal preparation for the future.

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700 Club watchers, Christian Coalition members
and others may contact the International Raelian Movement through
continental guides in Africa, America, Asia and Europe: